Outside of a Boca Raton polling place during the early voting period. (Photos by MediaLab@FAU)
By Christian Gangan and Sage West
Nov 5, 2024
Election Day is here, but three out of every five Floridians have already voted ahead of the big day.
Fewer than 39 percent of Floridians voted early during the 2020 election. However, when including people who opted for mail-in ballots during the pandemic, that number rises to nearly 80 percent, as many voters stayed home during the once-in-a-century pandemic.
The trend is clearly national. By Monday, Nov. 4, over 82 million Americans had already cast their votes – about 45 million of them in person and the rest by mail, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Is it a gnawing sense of pre-election anxiety that sent so many Americans to the polls early? Did news of drop-off ballot boxes being set on fire in three states and fears of election violence make more people opt to vote early? Or is it just dawning on more Americans that it makes perfect sense to vote ahead of Election Day, whether to skip the crowds or the potentially contentious atmosphere?
For Floridians, it seems to be some combination of all of these.
Alethea Perez, a librarian at Florida Atlantic University, voted early by mail. However, her husband chose to vote at an early polling location, where he witnessed disorderly conduct from individuals in line to place their vote.
“He was appalled at both sides shouting nasty things at one another, whether it was ‘death to that one’ or ‘death to the other one,’” Perez said. “He basically called me after and he was like, ‘I was so thankful that you don’t have to show up at one of these polling places.’”
Vanessa Taff, an MBA student at Florida Atlantic University, shared a similar sentiment. Taff said she was voting early at her local library, as a means to avoid a commotion on Election Day.
“I prefer to vote early because, to be honest with you, I feel like with this upcoming election it’s going to be a little crazy, and I would rather not deal with the lines and potential kind of rowdiness,” she said. “So I’d rather get it out of the way, get it done with.”
Howard Meltzer, a campaign volunteer in Broward County, said early voting seems to make the most sense for many working people.
“Early voting is an opportunity for people that work or have children that don't have time to go out on Election Day to be able to vote at their leisure,” said Meltzer, who was outside a polling place campaigning for Hofit Lottenberg, a mayoral candidate in Cooper City. “We have 14 straight days, 12 hours a day, 168 hours over two weeks to go out and vote. Should be enough time for anyone to come and vote.”
Voters shared many benefits when it comes to early ballots. A top reason is waiting in shorter lines – if any line at all. The wait time to vote on Election Day is often long and, in some precincts, voters could find that it takes several hours to get their time in the voting booth. It also doesn’t help that Election Day isn’t a federal holiday, as it is in other countries. That often challenges voters to make sacrifices like taking time off from work, or for students, skipping class to vote. Some never make it to the polls.
“I voted early because my family voted early, but the lines are definitely shorter so that’s a plus,” said Jaydon Bravo, 22, on a recent trip to vote with his family at the Broward College Library. “We waited around ten minutes to get a ballot.”
Concerns about voter security are causing many voters to send in their ballots early. Instances of harassment and misconduct have occurred at polling stations across the nation, striking up concerns from many residents. And given how America’s last election ended – with a transfer of power that can hardly be described as peaceful and the possibility of another drawn-out process lurking in the distance – it’s not as if anyone can tell the American people they have nothing to worry about. Many Republicans still believe that the 2020 election was fraudulent. A survey released last week by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research put numbers to the notion that Americans are feeling nervous about the state of the nation as it heads to the polling place.
The AP poll found that about 7 in 10 Americans report feeling anxious or frustrated about the 2024 presidential campaign.
Sometimes, something as simple as a day off from work provided an incentive for early voting, and many across South Florida took advantage of it through Sunday.
“I went because it was my day off and I had time during the day,” said Max Barkovich, 23, who was voting at the West Regional Library in Plantation.
Early voting also benefits voters who plan to travel before Election Day.
Monica Ramirez, a Florida resident who was born in New York, had a trip booked to travel back up north to see family days before the election. Thanks to early voting, she said, she was able to enjoy her trip without the stress of being unable to vote on Election Day itself.
“I think early voting is important because it gives you the opportunity to fulfill your civic duty in a time that is most convenient to you,” said Ramirez.
Still, many Floridians emphasize the importance of voting at all, whether early or just in the nick of time, before polls close this evening at 7 p.m.
“Well,” said Meltzer, “the most important thing is to vote.”